Child Protection Schemes To Be Included In NCERT Books

Child protection schemes like the POCSO Act and 24×7 children helpline numbers are now being published on the inside of the front cover of all the course books from class 6-12, according to Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry.

Published by the National Council Of Educational Research And Training (NCERT), the step is taken to equip the children with the information regarding the possible modes of protection and complaints.

In 2017, the WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi had requested Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar and NCERT to popularise POCSO e-Box and Childline 1098 through NCERT publications, screening of educational films on child sexual abuse in the schools and having strict norms for employing the support staff.

Children need to seek protection.

After the step was taken, Gandhi thanked Javadekar and NCERT for implementing her suggestion. She added that the parents, guardians, and teachers should remain vigilant about the children as well as their behaviour and any suspected situation should be reported immediately on the Childline No 1098 and the POCSO e-Box.

It is not clear whether the database is related to a dating app, government registry or another organisation or company. Pixabay

An open database in China contains the personal information of more than 1.8 million women, including their phone numbers, addresses and a “BreedReady” status which could describe whether a woman has children or was of child-bearing age, according to a researcher.

Victor Gevers, a Dutch Internet expert from the non-profit group GDI.Foundation, found the insecure data cache while searching for open databases in China, the Guardian reported on Monday.

The database included fields labelled in English for sex, age, education, marital status, as well as a column titled “BreedReady”.

The “BreedReady” status which could describe whether a woman has children or was of child-bearing age, according to a researcher. Pixabay

It is not clear whether the database is related to a dating app, government registry or another organisation or company.

Gevers, who also identified a database maintained by a surveillance company tracking at least 2.5 million residents in Xinjiang, said he was still taking samples and working on verifying the data.

“More than this, we don’t have at the moment. Our primary concern is that it gets secured ASAP,” he told the Guardian.

The database also included fields labelled “political” as well as links to what appear to be Facebook profile pages. Pixabay

The average age of women in the database was 32, with the youngest being 15, he said. Almost 90 per cent of included entries were described single and 82 per cent were listed as living in Beijing.